High school grades for 2010-2011 were recently released by the Florida Department of Education. Wakulla High School scored 1,128 points, well above the 1,050 needed to earn an A rating.  However, one of the fourteen areas assessed lowered the grade to a B for not improving five points or more from the previous year.

Wakulla High School excelled in the 2011 graduation calculation for all students at 91 points, increasing from 87 points in 2010.  It is the highest graduation rate in the surrounding counties and #11 in the state.

Improving by 20 points in 2011 was the WHS participation rate in students taking Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment, and Career and Technical Education courses for college credit opportunities and industry certification.

Overall, WHS improved 18 points over the previous year.

Only the graduation rate for at-risk students changed the A rating to a B because no matter how many points a high school earns, it cannot be an A without that one category improving by 5 points each year or staying at 75% or above.  WHS improved by 2 points over the previous year, which translates into 1.5 at-risk students.  

At-risk status is determined from the 2011 graduating seniors’ FCAT scores from 8th grade.  These students must graduate in four years or the school cannot be deemed an A.  “I think Wakulla High School teachers and administrators have done a tremendous job of focusing on successful college and career preparation for our students,” stated Superintendent David Miller.  “It does seem a shame that the entire school is penalized a letter grade for the performance of one student.  To me, the rightful score is still an A.”

A new grading system for high schools was used for the second year in Florida since schools began earning letter grades in 1999.  Florida high school scores now derive 50% of their school grade from Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores in Reading, Math, Science and Writing.  The other 50% is now comprised of the following areas:  graduation rate; graduation rate for at-risk students; participation in Advanced Placement courses, college dual enrollment courses, and career/technical courses; performance in Advanced Placement courses, college dual enrollment courses, and industry certification earned in career/technical courses; and “College Readiness” in reading and math, as assessed on the American College Test (ACT), the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), and the Common Placement Test (CPT).

Overall, the Wakulla County School District’s total points for all schools made for an A district rating.  Wakulla County has a string of 6 consecutive A district grades. 
 Wakulla is also in its 4th consecutive year of being deemed an “Academically High Performing District” due to meeting requirements for school grades, financial audits, and class sizes.

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